A Train Was Roaring Down On These Two Dogs. You Won’t Believe How This Hero Canine Reacts

JanS

DCF Owner
Administrative Staff
Moderator
Hot Topics Subscriber
1-intro-s1-2-dogs.jpg

Dogs are amazing creatures. They are loving, protective and smart. Dogs are also extremely faithful creatures. They have been known to wait patiently for missing companions and will also protect those they love with their own lives. This is a story about a very faithful and loving canine. This pup had every reason to flee the situation he was in, but instead waited patiently by the side of his injured companion.

Trains kill. They don’t show mercy for humans or for dogs. So that’s why it’s important to never linger on the tracks. But what can a canine dog do if it is injured while trying to cross railroad tracks and can’t move? Is it doomed to die a quick death by train? Or will it have to suffer a slow, terrifying death lying on the tracks as train after train passes over it? That, sadly, was the situation facing this beautiful dog. In December 2016, she was discovered lying in the middle of train tracks near the village of Tseglovka in the Ukraine.

When a friend of Denis Malafeyev called on Christmas Day to tell him of the canine’s terrifying predicament, he knew he had to help her. So Malafeyev, who lives in Uzhgorod, rushed to the site and found the dog still lying on the tracks. From others already at the scene, Malafeyev learned that the dog had apparently been on the tracks for at least two days. And these were not deserted railroad tracks. In fact, trains barreled along these tracks on a regular basis. This is Denis Malafeyev, who some would call the hero of this tale.

While Malafeyev and some fellow rescuers pondered how best to rescue the injured canine, they discovered that there were actually two dogs — the injured female, who became known as Lucy, as well as an uninjured male who became known as Panda. No one knew exactly how the female dog had been injured. Although it was suspected that she had been hit by a train since she was lying literally in the middle of the railroad tracks.

Making the situation even worse? The weather was already freezing. In fact, when Malafeyev arrived on the scene, the grounds and the dogs were already wearing a light coat of snow. Temperatures in this part of the Ukraine can plunge well below freezing in the winter, so Malafeyev knew that even if the dog didn’t get hit by a train, it was possible that she could succumb to the bitter temperatures.
Unfortunately Panda was very protective of Lucy and was refusing to let the frustrated rescuers get near her. The following is a rough translation of what Malafeyev wrote on his Facebook page, “Several attempts to remove the animal off the rails in vain.” He then said of Panda, “Every way of a dog to protect her from us!!!” To make matters worse, Malafeyev soon heard the rumbling sounds of an approaching train.

6-s10-train-and-dog.jpg


Because Malafeyev and his fellow rescuers were being thwarted by Panda in their rescue attempts, and because he had heard from onlookers how Lucy had managed to stay alive for two days, he decided to video the scene as the train approached. And what he caught was an amazing testament to Panda’s faithfulness and his love for Lucy.

7-s6-train-bearing-down.jpg


If you have ever been near a train, you know how loud and powerful they are. Yet, as the train approached and blasted its signal, Panda did something that we’re sure very few humans would do. Instead of running to safety away from the train, Panda rushed directly into the path of the train so that he could lay down next to Lucy. We can’t imagine the terror that these two dogs must have felt as the tracks began to shake and the air filled with the thunderous roar of the train as it bore down upon them.

According to Malafeyev, “Both of them pushed their heads towards the ground” as the train was about to pass over them. In the video, it seems like an eternity as the train seems to devour the two dogs. And it’s impossible not to assume that Lucy and Panda are lying dead on the tracks. But when the train finally passes, you can see in the video that Lucy and Panda are miraculously still alive. Though there is barely any room underneath that train, Lucy and Panda were somehow able to lay flat enough to avoid being struck by the massive machinery passing over them. And according to others at the scene, this is something that Panda had been doing every time a train would approach. It must have been so comforting to Lucy, who could not move, to have her canine best friend by her side during those petrifying moments that they lay underneath a moving train.

9-s8-train-over-dog.jpg


Panda was also keeping Lucy warm by lying beside her. “He warmed her for hours,” said Malafeyev. “So she’s not cold and [he] put himself in danger every time.” Given that the temperatures were low enough for there to be snow on the ground, it’s very possible that Panda may have saved Lucy from freezing to death, in addition to keeping her company as the terrifying trains roared over them time and time again.

On his Facebook page, Malafeyev wrote that he was amazed by Panda’s display of “… love, friendship [and] loyalty. I know one thing; not all people can do that!!!” He added that the sacrifices that Panda was willing to make on behalf of his friend should be very “instructive” to us.

After the train passed, Malafeyev and his fellow rescuers knew that they only had a short amount of time before the next train would roar on to the scene. And despite Panda’s protective behavior, Malafeyev — who is a big animal lover — wasn’t going to give up on saving Lucy. So he worked hard to win Panda’s trust.

12-s4-closeup-of-one.jpg


Fortunately for Lucy, Malafeyev was finally able to scoop her up and place her in his car. Of course, there was no way that Malafeyev was going to separate these two dogs that were so obviously dedicated to one another.

13-s2-rescued.jpg


So once Lucy was safely in the car, Malafeyev also decided to catch Panda as well. After wrapping the two into warm blankets, Malafeyev then transported them to a local shelter for treatment.

Surprisingly, Lucy had not been seriously injured. According to Malafeyev, she had “no bone fractures,” though she did have “bruises and [a] hematoma.” She was, in fact, soon able to walk around without any problem. It’s possible that Lucy may have been stunned after her initial injury and temporarily unable to walk. It’s also possible that she may have just been so traumatized by the injury and having to endure lying under the passing trains that she may have just shut down mentally. Of course, it’s all speculation. But in the end, what really matters is that she was able to walk again.

After the rescue, Malafeyev posted the video he had taken online, asking if anyone knew who the owners of the dogs might be, adding, “They are at the shelter!” He also reassured viewers that “the dogs are safe, live [and have] received qualified medical assistance.” Not surprisingly, this unbelievable tale of dedication and love struck a nerve with a lot of people, and the video quickly went viral, earning more than 4.3 million views. Malafeyev’s original Facebook story also went viral and was shared more than 72,000 times.

And, of course, many people wanted to make comments about Lucy and Panda, as well as about Malafeyev. One person posted, “Bless you all for saving them! Oh, what lessons in loyalty they teach us.” Another person wrote, “Very touching. These dogs have become an example in many countries. I found out about them in the Spanish news.” Yet another person commented, “What an amazing tale of friendship and love.” And some people simply wanted to thank Malafeyev for saving Lucy and Panda from their grim situation.

Some people even called Malafeyev a hero for taking the time to rescue Lucy from the tracks. But Malafeyev disagreed. “This is not my heroism,” he told The Dodo website. “It is Panda’s.”

The good news? It turned out that Panda and Lucy were not strays, which is a miracle in and of itself in a country where homeless dogs are very common. In fact, according to a 2013 story in The Guardian, there were an estimated 18,000 stray animals — mostly dogs — in Kiev, the capital of the Ukraine. And that’s just in Kiev. Thousands more roam the rest of the Ukraine, as well.

So how did Panda and Lucy end up in their dire predicament? According to several news stories and another post on Malafeyev’s Facebook page, the two dogs — who it turned out were brother and sister — had wandered off from their home after a gate had accidentally been left open on December 22, 2016. Their elderly owners went in search of the dogs but were unable to find them. Lucy was first seen lying on the tracks on December 23rd, so she had obviously been injured shortly after she had left the safety of her yard.

Malafeyev reported that he and others interested in the well-being of Lucy and Panda wanted to make sure that the dogs — now viral video stars — were being returned to their rightful owners. They also wanted to ensure that the home they would be returning to was a fit one, so they decided to conduct a home visit, which turned out satisfactory. Lucy’s and Panda’s owners were also able to provide Malafeyev with copies of the dogs’ veterinarian records. Before leaving the dogs, Malafeyev and his companions also gave their owners “advice for the care [and] maintenance [of their] pets.”

21-s28-rescued.jpg


So in the end, the dogs were reunited with their owners. As for Malafeyev, he continues to do what he can to help out animals. In a February 2017, for instance, he posted a video of a forlorn stray dog on his Facebook page and begged people to stop ignoring the “maimed, wounded, sick and hungry” stray dogs that can be found throughout the Ukraine. He also encouraged his Facebook followers to “sterilize your pets, otherwise you’re condemning their descendants to certain death…”

Thanks to the viral video, Panda has now joined the ranks of other famously loyal dogs, such as Hachiko. Back in the 1920s, this dog lived in Tokyo, Japan and was owned by a man named Hidesaburo Ueno, who worked at the University of Tokyo. At the end of each work day, Hachiko would faithfully go to the Shibuya train station to meet his owner. Then in May 1925, Ueno did not return. He had died suddenly while at work. Not knowing this, Hachiko continued to go to the train station to see if his owner would return every day until he, himself, died nine years later. His fidelity and loyalty endeared him to the Japanese, and shortly before his death, a statue was erected in his honor at the Shibuya train station.

It is stories like these and that of Panda’s that remind us of what amazingly loyal and dedicated creatures dogs are. They will actually put their life on the line if they want to save a loved one. And their faithful character and endless love are part of the reason why we humans have fallen so in love with our canines today.

Original source:
A Train Was Roaring Down On These Two Dogs -- You Won't Believe How This Hero Canine Reacts
 
OOOMMMGGG!!! What a story! Good gosh, I want to snuggle those babies immediately. That is JUST incredible. That video made me a nervous wreck even though I knew the outcome. How can dogs be so amazing? Just...WOW. Beautiful. I'm so happy this had a happy ending! Dang, I know I wear my heart on my sleeve, but...happy tears...
I wish people would take a page from dogs' books! What a wonderful world that would be!
 
That was amazing! In the video, it actually looked like the one dogs head was up too high and I :eek:
How can dogs be so amazing? Just...WOW. Beautiful. I'm so happy this had a happy ending! Dang, I know I wear my heart on my sleeve, but...happy tears...
Me to!! And YES, Dogs are AMAZING! I always say that! Special creatures of God!
 

Back
Top